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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. dip — to sink
  9. vault — a safe
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. track — a path
  18. land — to come down
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com